Page 108 of Shadows in Bloom

“Because I opened it up over the mat?” Nikita shrugged. “That was just dumb luck.”

“That so?” He hummed. “Well, I suppose you still can’t be entirely stupid since you haven’t tried to run again.”

“Do you like killing people?” there was no accusation in his tone, but there wasn’t any real interest either.

“Are you seriously making conversation with me? Now?”

He shrugged again. “If you’re the last person I’m going to be with, might as well take advantage. Speaking of, shouldn’t you ask if I have any last words or something gangster like that?”

“Have that little confidence in yourself?” Ledger clicked his tongue. “Your brother really did a number on you, huh.” He couldn’t fathom it. Sure, he’d grown up in a world where mothers could sell out their sons, and bodies could disappear with a simple finger snap. Not all of his friends had a perfect home life, not like he did, but still…

“I have a brother, too,” he said. “We also have different last names, like you and yours.”

“I don’t think our situations are the same at all,” Nikita replied.

“Oh? Why’s that? Because there’s no blood relations between me and my brother?” Ledger held back his anger when he said it, but inside, he was coiled and ready to strike. The only reason he’d opted to give the would-be thief a chance at all was because he’d mentioned being mistreated by his family.

Brothers were sort of a sore spot for Ledger, as weird as that may be. Growing up, he and Pavel had dealt with all sorts of comments. Not just from other kids their age either. Teachers and other adults would say things behind their backs and to their faces. Stuff about how they weren’t real siblings because they didn’t share any blood. Or how Pavel was merely a replacement child since their mother had discovered she couldn’t have any more of her own.

Horrible, shitty things. Things no one should ever say to a six-year-old. Pavel had been forced to listen though, had been forced to endure.

The way Ledger saw it, this night could go one of two ways. Either he took it easy on Nikita—or he made the most of this shitty night by blowing off some steam. By taking out his frustrations on Nikitia’s body.

Depending on the little cat’s answer, that would determine which way things went.

Ledger liked to leave things up to fate sometimes. Kept things interesting.

“No,” Nikita sighed. “Because your brother actually likes you.”

“Smart answer.” It had been, so why was part of Ledger somewhat disappointed? He’d planned on letting the other guy walk out of here no matter how good or bad the sex turned out to be. Aside from breaking in and running from him, there weren’t any other offenses, and neither of those things could be considered major. Certainly not worth killing over.

Despite what Nikita thought of him, Ledger didn’t much care for murder. Had he killed before? Yes. Would he again in the future? Absolutely. But it wasn’t something he actively went searching for, not like some of the other Devils who had bloodlust and a penchant for delivering pain.

Still…Letting him walk away without any punishment for breaking into a Devil-owned establishment seemed too lax. What if Nikita tried to do it again and someone else caught him?

He sighed. “Tell you what. New rules. We’re in a sparring ring, let’s do that instead. We’ll go a single round. First person to land three punches wins.” His dick wasn’t happy about that plan, but Ledger chose to ignore it. Clearly the guy had a lot going on in his life, and a person already fucking around with him against his will. Whether or not he’d intended to lay down and spread his thighs, Ledger found he didn’t want to take advantage of an already struggling person.

Go figure.

Nikita didn’t say anything, so Ledger took that as a sign of agreement. He’d get this over with quick and then the two of them could go their separate ways and he could stop feeling this strange itchy sensation.

It was the same feeling he got whenever someone did something to Pavel he didn’t like.

The one that typically resulted in Ledger bashing in the insulting person’s skull.

Not wanting to waste any more energy on this, he shot forward. Only, when he got close, fist raised and aimed for the side of Niki’s face—the side that was already bruised—the younger man merely squeezed his eyes shut and held still.

“What the fuck?!” Ledger allowed his knuckles to graze the swell of his cheek but pulled the punch before it could do more than that. “What are you playing at?!”

“Nothing,” Nikita stared at him, his eyes empty. It was eerie, seeing such a hollow expression on such a pretty face. The look of someone who’d well and truly given up. “I’m no good at fighting. This way, it’ll be over quick.”

“You think I ordered you to spar with me because I thought you’d actually stand a chance?” Ledger growled. “No, I did it because I’m bored and I wanted some entertainment. This? This whole,” he stabbed a finger into the center of Nikita’s chest, forcing him back so he stumbled and almost fell, “self-pity act isn’t entertaining. It’s just pissing me off.”

“That’s fine too.”

Ledger bristled. “Excuse you?”

“Get angry. That’ll also make it come faster, won’t it? Everyone knows you have a short fuse.”

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